Why building projects in Qatar stall when nobody owns the approvals

Building projects in Qatar rarely stall because of one bad drawing. They stall because several parties each hold a piece of the approval work, and nobody is responsible for the whole.

A building permit needs consistent answers to the Ministry of Municipality, Kahramaa, Qatar Civil Defence, Ashghal and the telecom providers. When a comment arrives, someone must decide who answers it, update every affected drawing and resubmit. If your appointment documents do not name that someone, the project waits.

How responsibility gets split

A common arrangement in Qatar looks like this. An architect prepares the design. Structural and MEP engineers are hired separately, often on price. MEP means mechanical, electrical and plumbing. A contractor joins later and wants to start on site. A runner, often called a PRO or mandoub, carries documents and follows up the applications.

Each party does its own part. The architect draws plans. The engineers produce their drawings. The runner checks the status. Nobody is appointed to read a Kahramaa comment and work out what it changes on the architectural plan. That task falls between the contracts, so it falls to the owner.

What a runner can and cannot do

A runner is useful for paperwork. A runner can collect documents, make payments on your behalf and tell you where an application stands. A runner cannot redesign a substation room, recalculate a load or decide how to answer a fire safety comment.

Permit applications go through a registered engineering consultancy in the Ministry of Municipality's electronic system. Technical comments need a technical reply from that consultancy. In October 2025 the Ministry launched an AI-assisted system that checks drawings automatically. When software checks the drawings, follow-up visits matter less and drawing quality matters more.

How one comment ripples into other drawings

Authorities review their own part of the design, but their comments rarely stay inside that part. One comment can change drawings in several disciplines.

When each discipline sits in a separate contract, every change becomes a negotiation. The parties argue over who updates what, who pays and which revision is current. Meanwhile the authority's comment stays open. The chains below are typical.

• Kahramaa requires a substation on the plot. The ground floor plan, parking layout, structure and landscape all change.
• Qatar Civil Defence asks for another exit or a wider staircase. The architecture, structure, floor areas and MEP routes change.
• Ashghal moves the road access or the drainage connection point. The site plan, levels and manholes change.
• The structural engineer enlarges columns after the soil report. Parking bays and room sizes change.
• The Ministry of Municipality asks for a setback correction. Every discipline must move with the building line.

What stalling looks like from the owner's side

Owners usually notice the symptoms before they see the cause. If several of the signs below are true, the problem is not effort. The problem is that no one has been given ownership of the approvals.

• You forward authority comments from one party to another yourself.
• Nobody can give you the status at every authority in one message.
• Drawings with different revision dates are in use at the same time.
• The contractor is pricing or building from drawings that were not the ones submitted.
• Each party tells you it is waiting for someone else.

What a single accountable consultant changes

In a single-consultant arrangement, one firm prepares the architecture, structure and MEP and makes the submissions. One named person keeps the approvals tracker. Each comment is read once and assigned inside the team. All affected drawings are updated together before resubmission, and the owner receives one status report.

This does not stop authorities from commenting, and it cannot guarantee an approval or a date. It removes the gaps between parties, which is where avoidable delay sits. This is how we work. One team is accountable from the first drawing to the issued permit.

A lead consultant with sub-consultants can also work. The condition is that the appointment makes the lead responsible, in writing, for coordination and for every authority reply.

Questions to ask any consultant before signing

Put these questions to every consultant you are considering, including us. Ask for the answers in writing and attach them to the agreement.

• Who submits the application, and under which consultancy's registration?
• Who reads and answers comments from each authority: the Ministry of Municipality, Kahramaa, Qatar Civil Defence, Ashghal and telecom?
• Who checks architecture, structure and MEP against each other before every submission, and how is that check recorded?
• Are the structural and MEP engineers in-house or sub-consultants, and who is responsible for their work?
• Who is my single point of contact, and who covers when that person is away?
• How often will I receive a status report, and will it show each authority separately?
• When a comment changes the design, who updates all affected drawings, and is that work inside the agreed scope?
• What is excluded, for example soil investigation, surveys, authority fees or the building completion certificate?
• Who handles approvals during construction, as-built drawings and the completion stage?
• Who keeps the current drawing set, and will I receive the final files?

What the owner still has to own

Accountability runs both ways. A consultant can only own the approvals if the owner makes decisions on time. Agree the brief before design starts. Provide the title deed, plot documents and identity documents when asked. Pay authority fees promptly. Name one decision maker on your side.

Changes after submission are the most expensive kind. A new room or a changed use can reopen reviews at several authorities. If a change is necessary, ask your consultant which approvals it affects before you confirm it.

Common questions